IIE was honored to host His Majesty King Felipe of Spain on his inaugural visit to the United States since his proclamation. The event celebrated U.S.-Spain educational exchange, academic collaboration and the accomplishments of the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Program in promoting mutual understanding between the two countries.

"Today, while we celebrate the great history of the Fulbright Program, together with the IIE's work, and both their contributions to human progress, I would like to take this opportunity to send all these young people and their families a message of hope and confidence in our common future," said King Felipe.

IIE President Allan E. Goodman writes for the Huffington Post about the severe risk of a "lost generation" in Syria, as many Syrian university students and teachers are currently seeking shelter in refugee camps or wherever they can escape the violence. "Syria's students and professors are the country's best chance to rebuild their society when the current conflict subsides," writes Dr. Goodman.

Schools in the United States are courting a record number of international undergraduate students. According to Kim Bellware’s article in the Huffington Post, the reasons are both monetary and cultural. "While the courting of international students by American colleges may seem purely transactional to some, experts say the motivations go beyond money," writes Bellware, whose article discusses school priorities amidst declining budgets. 

The Chronicle of Higher Education summarizes a new report by the American Council on Education, "Creating Global Citizens: Challenges and Opportunities for Internationalization at HBCUs": 

"As global learning becomes a top priority in American higher education, historically black colleges and universities may face challenges that are common to other institutions but in a more pronounced manner."

Times Higher Education shares the characteristics of a globally recognized top 200 university in a recent post: "The quest to create "world-class" universities has become something of a global obsession in the past decade...Times Higher Education has shed new light on the subject, revealing the key characteristics of the average top 200 university in its World University Rankings 2014–2015."

The call for proposals for the British Council’s 2015 Going Global Conference is now open. Going Global attracts policy-makers, professionals and practitioners from within the international education community. It is therefore seeking proposals that will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience around the conference themes. Going Global welcomes unique perspectives, and is especially interested to hear about practical examples of how you have anticipated and responded to challenges and opportunities in your own work. Successful proposals will link policy and practice, for example by explaining how specific experiences in the education sector have informed policy developments.

If you have any questions please contact Going.Global@britishcouncil.org.

The Washington International Education Council is pleased to invite IIE Members to participate in the 13th Washington International Education Conference taking place at the University of California Washington, DC, Center and embassies and sponsoring organizations throughout Washington. The Conference is the premier event providing the latest information on the movement of international students to the United States. This year’s conference will feature ground breaking research on the origins and destinations of international students. Register now to reserve your place and qualify for the early registration rate. Registration forms are available at www.washcouncil.org or by emailing inquiries@washcouncil.org.

Register now for the annual Transatlantic Science Week (TSW) 2014 in Toronto, ON. TSW is an annual trilateral science and innovation conference that promotes the collaboration between research, innovation, government, and business in Canada, the United States and Norway. TSW2014 is focused on The Arctic: Societies, Sustainability, and Safety. TSW will examine challenges and opportunities in the Arctic through three specialized tracks: (1) Arctic climate science, (2) Arctic safety and cross border knowledge, and (3) Arctic research-based industrial development and resource management. Business opportunities in the Arctic are an essential part of the program.

The Institute of International Education’s www.iiepassport.org site has been a principal resource for students and practitioners in the study abroad field for more than 10 years. Providing the most comprehensive directories of study abroad opportunities, IIEPassport helps connect students with institutions, programs and funding sources around the world. The online database features detailed descriptions of international sponsors, programs and scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study, plus doctoral and postdoctoral research. Moving forward, www.iiepassport.org will be critical to IIE’s Generation Study Abroad initiative, which seeks to double U.S. study abroad participation by the end of the decade.

IIE also offers affordable and effective opportunities to further promote your organization. With questions, please contact iiesupport@naylor.com.

The 2015-2016 application cycle of the IAF Ph.D. Fellowship Program is open, and informational webinars will be offered beginning October 1, 2014. Visit the site for the current schedule. 

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) was created in 1969 by the United States Congress to fund the self-help initiatives of the organized poor in Latin America and the Caribbean and the groups that directly support them. IAF Fellowships are for candidates for Ph.D. degrees from United States universities as they conduct their dissertation research. IAF's Fellowships are intended to increase awareness of grassroots development efforts while building a community of professionals and scholars knowledgeable in the subject. Fellows examine the efforts of the rural and urban poor to improve their lives, their methods of organization and production, and the policies and programs designed to alleviate their poverty. The IAF disseminates research findings of its Fellows to a broad audience concerned with development. For additional information please contact iafinfo@iie.org.

The Fung Global Fellows Program at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Princeton University, is currently accepting applications for the 2015/16 academic year from international scholars working on "Ethnic Politics and Identities." The program seeks applications from scholars who explore the causes, narrative modalities, and consequences of the politicization of ethnic, racial, and national divides from a comparative perspective. Researchers working on any historical period of the modern age or region of the world and from any disciplinary background in the social sciences or humanities are encouraged to apply.

The Institute of International Education (IIE) and the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) invite U.S. higher education institutions to apply to participate in the International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) with Norway, which seeks to increase the number of international partnerships between higher education institutions in the U.S. and in Norway. Over the course of the six month program, IAPP will engage a select group of U.S. higher education institutions in training activities focused on implementing strategic partnerships with higher education institutions in Norway, with a special emphasis on the fields of energy and the environment. Past IAPP participants have increased faculty exchanges, implemented strategic partnership plans, and expanded study abroad offerings. IIE and SIU will select approximately 10 U.S. institutions of higher education to participate in the program.

Thanks to the generous support of SIU, all in-country costs for the study tour to Norway will be covered for two representatives from each participating U.S. institution. 

Application Deadline: October 15, 2014

Program Cycle: November 2014–June 2015 

Study Tour to Norway: April 2015

Program Cost: $6,000 (All in-country costs for two representatives on the study tour are included in the reduced program fee.) 

For more information or to download the IAPP application or Special Partnership Initiatives, visit www.iie.org/iapp.

The second application cycle of the Global Innovation Initiative, a higher education grant competition created to strengthen higher education research partnerships between the U.S., the UK and four other countries: Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia, is now open. This initiative provides exciting grant opportunities for post-secondary educational partnerships on topics of global significance in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the following four areas: energy, climate change and the environment; urban development; agriculture, food security and water; and global health. 

Accredited U.S. post-secondary educational institutions are invited to apply for one of approximately six grants of up to $200,000 each, and must apply together with at least one higher education partner in the UK, and one in Brazil, China, India, and/or Indonesia. For more information about the initiative and how to apply, please visit www.iie.org/GII. Proposals are due by 5:00pm EST on October 31, 2014. Grant recipients will be announced in Spring 2015.

The initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of State, UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the British Council, which also serves as the implementing partner in the UK. In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the grant program in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Two parallel, but separate grant competitions are being offered in the U.S. and UK, and an institution from either country is required to take the lead on the partnership. Partnership proposals with a U.S. lead institution may apply through the U.S. competition and those with a UK lead institution may apply through the UK competition. More information about eligibility and the application process can be found on the Global Innovation Initiative’s website. 

Through this joint effort, the U.S. and UK aim to raise the bar for international collaboration while developing a new cadre of globally-savvy individuals, enhancing global research capacity, strengthening institutional cooperation, and promoting the exponential benefits of multilateral partnerships. For more information or to download the proposal documents, please visit www.iie.org/GII or contact Morgan Clark at GII@iie.org.

If you are working with joint degrees, this is your chance to voice your opinions on a reference guide that is currently being developed for you! This survey is part of the Joint Degrees from A to Z (JDAZ) project. The objective of JDAZ is to produce a comprehensive, practical reference guide on joint programmes based on all relevant major work done in this field. By submitting the guide to your comments, we wish to make it a true working instrument fitting your needs.

The October 15th Deadline to join Generation Study Abroad in time for the next public announcement of partners is quickly approaching. We encourage your institution to make a commitment now and be part of this important initiative. 

To date, more than 350 partners have joined and committed to take specific, measurable actions to expand study abroad opportunities for American students by the end of the decade. Partners so far include over 250 U.S. and foreign higher education institutions, as well as governments and exchange agencies, education associations, and other organizations. We are deeply grateful to those who have already made a commitment to expanding the number and diversity of students who study abroad.

Please visit the Generation Study Abroad webpage to see how you can get involved. You will need to download the Commitment Form for your type of organization, and outline the specific actions your institution will take.

A new study on the impact of the European Union's Erasmus student exchange program finds that graduates with study abroad experience are more successful than those without. Two significant findings showed that these graduates are less likely to experience long-term unemployment and that their unemployment rate five years after graduation is 23 percent lower.

On October 24, IIE-SRF will hold an inaugural summit, "Protecting Threatened Scholars: Collective Action during Repression, Crisis, and Conflict." The Summit will gather over 100 education and human rights leaders, including IIE-SRF host universities and scholars, to address the challenges and opportunities of the academic, human rights and philanthropic communities as we collectively respond to scholars suffering from censorship, harassment, violence, and other grave abuses.

Daniela Kaisth vice-president, external affairs and IIE initiatives and James King, senior research and program officer at the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund write for University World News about the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan, "The United Nations recently registered its three-millionth Syrian refugee. In this group and among the nearly seven million Syrians internally displaced is a population neglected and ignored: tens of thousands of university students and scholars."